Total pages in book: 93
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88841 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 444(@200wpm)___ 355(@250wpm)___ 296(@300wpm)
—Henry Du Ponte
“Bad news?” Julian prompts when I groan out loud.
“Family obligations. My father has requested my presence.”
Julian chuckles. “The Fourth of July picnic?”
“The fact that he calls renting out several floors of a hotel and a private beach a picnic shows how out of touch he is from reality.”
I was excused last year because of the shit that went down with Nora—during which he never once showed up to offer his support—and the year before because of the wedding, which he didn’t attend. But he’s not going to take no for an answer this year. The idea of spending an entire weekend with my father and our stuck-up family at the beach has me wanting to drown myself in the ocean.
Although I’m sure my grandfather will be there, and unlike my dad, he actually cares about me. He might be related to my dad, but they’re nothing alike.
“Rich people problems,” Julian drawls, half joking.
Unlike Ana and me, Julian comes from a middle-class family. He loves his job, but even after all these years of working at Kingston, he’s not entirely comfortable around people like my father, who flaunt their wealth and judge others by the number of zeros next to their name.
“He acts like it’s my fault that he hasn’t met Addie when he’s the one who chooses to never visit. My grandfather and Eric both made the trip to meet her when she was born, and my grandfather has visited a few times since then.”
“Don’t let him get to you,” Julian says. “He’s just bitter that after all this time, you still haven’t caved on working for him, and there’s nothing he can do about it.”
Thankfully, my grandfather believes in following your own dreams, and the trust I was given was only contingent on me furthering my education. The day I graduated from college with my degree, I was given access to more money than I’d ever spend. My dad was pissed because he wanted me to work for the family business and tried to convince my grandfather to require it, but he refused—thank God. The thought of spending my days working for a man who has treated me more like a stranger than blood is not appealing, to say the least.
“So, are you going to the picnic?”
“Yeah, I haven’t seen my grandfather in a few months, and he’ll be there. I want Addie to know him.”
With him being in his eighties, I don’t know how much longer we have with him, and I’ll regret Addie not getting to know him because I hate being around the rest of my family.
While my grandfather was busy working when I was younger, he still made it a point to spend time with me. Both he and my grandmother—who passed away a few years back—were the only family I really felt somewhat close to, growing up. Neither of them agreed with the way my father chose to raise his children—or put work above his wife. Meanwhile, my father thinks my grandfather is soft and swears if it wasn’t for him taking over Du Ponte Enterprises, the business would’ve failed.
He’s probably not wrong, but while the business has thrived, his family life is a complete failure. He’s a lonely sixty-five-year-old man who never settled down after my mom left him and thinks having a gorgeous younger woman on his arm proves he’s made it in the world. It’s pretty fucking embarrassing if you ask me.
I’ve only taken a couple more bites of my food when another email comes through, this time from my brother.
Ryder,
I know you’ve been through a lot recently, but with me announcing my candidacy for president in the upcoming election, it would mean a lot if you could please attend the annual picnic. All eyes will be on us, and it will help to have a united front, especially after everything that transpired last year.
Sincerely,
Eric
“Let me guess,” Julian says. “Your brother emailed you.”
“Of course he did.”
I love my brother, and he’s never done anything wrong—just the opposite, he’s as perfect as it gets—but because of the ten-year age difference, we aren’t close. He lives in Austin since he’s the governor of Texas, so we don’t see each other often, and ever since Nora left, I’ve made it a point to hide from the public so I can deal with my shit in private.
Going to this picnic will mean putting myself, as well as my daughter, back in the limelight. People are going to want to know where her mother is and why she isn’t in the picture anymore. Even if Eric wasn’t a public figure, the Du Pontes are one of the wealthiest families in Texas, having owned and sold over one hundred thousand miles of pipeline years ago. Our family is still heavily involved in oil, among other things, and it was only a matter of time before I’d have to step out of the shadows.